The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday initiated the process of finding a new title sponsor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) by floating tender notices for the same.

After realty firm DLF Ltd ended its five-year-long association with IPL as the title sponsor in August, BCCI has formally started looking for a replacement.

"Under this invitation to tender, the winning bidder will be granted the right to be Title Sponsor of the Indian Premier League for the five seasons from 2013 to 2017," the tender notice issued by BCCI in leading newspapers stated.

"The Title Sponsor rights include a number of branding and other marketing benefits to be received by the Title Sponsor at every IPL match during the season as specifically outlined in the Invitation to Tender," it added.

The notice made it clear that companies which intend to sell off the rights after winning the bid are ineligible to apply in the first place.

"Bids may be submitted in respect of all product categories listed in the Invitation to Tender. Only corporate entities, whether in India or abroad, which are interested in placing a bid for themselves and/or their holding or subsidiary company(ies), for the purpose of the advertisement and promotion of their own brands within their primary product or services categories are eligible to participate in this tender process and to submit bids.

"For the sake of clarity, agencies intending to sell the rights to another corporate entity are not eligible to participate in this tender," it said.

Bids would be accepted by the board till 21 November.

"The Invitation to Tender can be acquired on any working day between 10am to 6pm from Saturday, October 27 at the BCCI office, Cricket Centre, Wankhede Stadium, D Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020, upon payment of Rs.2,00,000 (non-refundable and non-adjustable) by Demand Draft or pay order (both payable in Pune) favouring The Board of Control for Cricket in India. Bids must be submitted at 11:30am (IST) on November 21, 2012."